1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of battery powered vehicles.
2. Prior Art
Battery powered vehicles of various sizes and designs are well known in the prior art. Of particular interest to the present invention are the smaller vehicles wherein the battery may be recharged in the vehicle or removed for recharging while another battery is placed in the vehicle so that the vehicle may be used while recharging occurs. One such vehicle is the three-wheeled vehicle shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b. This vehicle is manufactured by T3 Motion, Inc., assignee of the present invention.
In small electric powered vehicles using a removable rechargeable battery, the battery typically is recharged through its power output terminals, whether in the vehicle or removed from the vehicle for recharging. This provides a simple and low cost way of recharging such batteries, though has certain disadvantages. First, the power output terminals of the battery must be readily accessible, creating a possible safety hazard on the inadvertent shorting of those power terminals. Also batteries typically are comprised of multiple cells connected in series, so that individual cells cannot be monitored through its power output terminals. Accordingly, the general health of the battery, its rate of self discharge, etc. can only be monitored on an overall battery basis.